Gibran Marten: The Next Big Thing

fthing
Thursday, June 7, 2018

In one bright day, Letter F encountered Gibran Marten at Feast by Kokiku, Gunawarman. Familiar with the name yet? Yes, he is the youngest son of Indonesian legendary actor, Roy Marten. Following his father’s path, and his older brother’s Gading, Gibran is also a big actor in the making. Busy with his daily activities, including an acting class, the 31-year-old model/actor is currently having three upcoming movie projects for the rest of the year. Now, it’s the time to get to know him better.

Having a family in the entertainment industry, is that the reason to follow their path or do you have another purpose?

“Well, having a father (Roy Marten) and older brother (Gading Marten) in the said industry already gives me a positive and negative sides. The positive one is they’re mostly welcoming me in a good honor, but it also makes their expectation high – that’s the negative side (laugh). And just so you know, my father already asked me to join him ever since I was in high school. But back then, my passion was in music. I was in a band jazz and did many gigs before. Yet the process of the music producing is not supported by the amount of selling, it’s kind of hard especially a segmented music genre like jazz. Then I accepted his offer and tried acting. Little did I know, acting is that exciting.”

How exciting, then?

“Acting is undeniably fun! According to art enthusiast, acting is the highest level in art. I mean, we become someone else in acting, whether it’s a doctor, a lawyer, to a high school student even. And separating ourselves and the specific character is hard. And when people are convinced about the character, that’s when we master the character. It’s like we explore ourselves in someone else’s character.”

Struggles in this particular job?

“To be honest, I’ve been in acting for only three years. And the struggle is real. Dad even asked me to make a little gimmick in order to make me known to the public. But I refused and decided to work on my own. Earlier in my acting days, I only acted as cameo. I started it all with a casting call. I tried to not carry my father’s name. It also helps me to understand my potential in acting; if this is my way, then I’ll continue it, and if it isn’t my fate, then I’ll still be grateful of it.”

Aside from acting, you also learn about martial arts. Are you always interested in that kind of sport?

“It was all because my father didn’t mind at all when all his sons fought. It’s funny, I mean, not many parents like to see their kids having a fight, but he is different. I even took Taekwondo class in elementary school. And when I was in college, I learned about Brazilian Jiujitsu and suddenly fell in love with it. I did sparring match with others and yeah, basically got beaten up too. But at some point, my father asked me whether I wanted to be an athlete, model, or an actor – and I had to choose one, because he wanted me to focus. So I left the battle fight (laugh) and do Brazilian Jiujutsu for a healthy lifestyle only.”

That’s why you make a special channel about martial arts with Volland Humonggio?

“Yes, indeed. And apparently he is a Capoeira, Parkour and Boxing athlete. So we made that to channel our healthy lifestyle. We both are in sync to have a better self and body through martial arts.”

Who’s your role model in acting?

“First of all, Roy Marten, because I grow up watching his movies and his acting is sick. And the other one is Ryan Reynolds – he is the whole entertainer, and he’s more than just a handsome face.”

Best movie according to you?

“La La Land! The movie has everything; the plot, the cinematography, the music and soundtrack. I really want to try that kind of musical movie later. And recent best local movie, Love for Sale. Gading’s acting is gold in there!”

If you got a chance to direct a movie, what kind of movie would you like to make?

“Without any doubt, I would like to direct an action movie like The Raid. I want all the actors that can fight for real, and not just an effect.”

PART OF

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